Monday, November 30, 2015

On Saturday we had a much needed lazy morning. As you can tell, we have been very busy on our week long vacation to Australia.

Here's me and the beautiful Cambrya.

Jon and his dance partner.

In the afternoon we took the train into town to go to the aquarium with Tim and the kids. Simone had to work. :(

Tim let Jon drive us to the train station

Just me and Davin hanging out in the backseat.

On the train! I couldn't believe how much energy it takes to keep two kids occupied for an hour train ride. Whew!

We arrived at the aquarium and got some "green screen" photos. My shirt happens to be green this day, so it changed depending on the background!

Dugong picture

Penguins! Love how Cambi is pointing too!

Jellyfish!

And my favorite, the sharks. Tim's face in this is classic.

We had an awesome time at the aquarium. I spent most of my time chasing Davin around. He was so excited and I was terrified of losing him. haha

Dav and his hat

These two goofballs...

Ahhhh a shark!

I think Jon is listening to Davin in dugong language.

Tim and Cambrya

And here are some more photos I took in the reef... ;)

So beautiful!

Look at the quality!

After the aquarium, Tim and the kids went back home and Jon and I stayed downtown. We had dinner and a show to go to for our anniversary.

That's right! Sydney Opera House! This was the highlight of the trip for me. I feel like I can't go to Sydney Australia and not see an opera.

First, dinner at Bennelong. This is where we had the famous super expensive water. ;) Jon had an incredible view of the harbour... and me!

Here we are waiting for the opera to begin. We barely made it. After dinner we had 15 minutes to pick up our tickets, but that was not enough time with the super long lines. We made it though!

During intermission, selfie with the Opera House.

The stage! We saw The Marriage of Figaro and it was incredible!

Snuggles

At the end!

And us on our way to the train station, posing with the poster for the show.

After a too short, and too busy, week, we headed home. It's weird how now when I say "home" I mean Taiwan.

And of course the candy from Australia. Not as big a pile as the one from Europe, but still impressive!

Sometimes, when life slows down a bit, I can take a moment and realize how blessed I am. I worked hard to be where I am today, but I also had quite a bit of fortune in my life. I can't help but recognize the hand of God in so many things.

Today I am reflecting on being married for 7 years. One, that makes me feel like an old woman, but more importantly, it makes me think about all of the things that I've accomplished, all of the life that I've lived in the past seven years, and how grateful I am that I have had Jonathan beside me through it all. Happy Anniversary babe! Thanks for everything, and especially for Australia!

*A huge shout out to my friends Tim and Simone. Thank you for letting us stay with you, for driving us to and from the train station, for entertaining us with your kids, and for being great company. Love you.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

After returning from Cairns, we met up with Tim, Simone and Cambrya in downtown Sydney. We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art and got some great shots of the harbour, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Us with the Opera House

Bridge and Opera House, and a photobomb from some kid.

We had to wear backpacks in the front. Tim was already baby wearing, so we fit right in!

We then walked over to Darling Harbour to have some lunch!

We took a detour to this quaint little street with bird cages. Simone INSISTED that Jon be in the photo. He was not thrilled about the detour...

Darling Harbour behind me!

Tim and Simone had to go get their kids from school, and didn't have as much time as we thought, so they left and we had lunch.

Me and Jon at the harbour.

We went to the National Maritime Museum and got to tour some boats. This one actually sails and you can book a stay on it. Really cool. Behind me is the "latrine" and I think you know what the rope is for...

Here's Jon listening to the volunteers inside the boat tell us everything. Behind him is some sleeping quarters. It was super crowded in there, and I was a little claustrophobic. You couldn't stand up straight!

Steering the boat!

Next stop was the submarine. It looks like Jon is going off to space in this picture!

A cramped shower. What a goofball.

Walking through the narrow walkways.

View of the harbour from the Maritime Museum.

Now Jon is driving!

That evening we went out again with Tim and Simone to the hotel where Simone works. They had "Musical Bingo" kids night. It was super fun, and both Tim and I got to go up and sing/dance for prizes!

Me about to sing.

Tim is an awesome cheerleader!

Friday morning, Jon and I left for a full day tour of the Blue Mountains! The tour also stopped at some places in town that we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Here I am at the Olympic Park Stadium. I think this stop was a little pointless, but it was on the way.

We stopped by Featherdale Wildlife Park. Here is me with some cute little wallabies!

And Jon feeding a kangaroo. They wouldn't eat from me.

I don't remember what kind of animal this is, but he was really cool.

His body is so flexible you can fold him in half like this!

Me with the Koala. I couldn't hold him, but I could pet his back!

And petting the wombat. Apparently not recommended, but no one said anything.

Jon found a candy store...

And some Big Red! Here's us at a cute little waterfall. Jon refused to take the picture unless his soda could join us...

What a view!

We took a skyrail across the mountains. It was really cool, and kind of scary!

Here's our little "hike" we took. They had paths in the bush and we took the shortest one basically. Our tour guide said we had too much to see!

Couldn't pass up this photo opportunity...

We took the steepest railway in Australia or something, and took it up backwards! It was also called the Scenic Railway, just like the one in Kuranda, but it was very different. More like a semi-rollercoaster. I liked it but I wished we had gone down it too!

This is called the Three Sisters. Three different rock formations that look similar. It's kind of the reason you go in the Blue Mountains. You can see all the people there just staring at it.

Me and the Three Sisters

Jon and the bush!

A bush fire destroyed this area, just behind us there are homes, one completely burned down and it's neighbors were untouched.

To end our tour we took a ferry into Circular Quay.

It was a little windy up front on the ferry.

For our Anniversary (which would be the next day) Simone and Tim bought us tickets to go to Luna Park, a nostalgic amusement park in Sydney. (Thanks guys!!!)

We ended our Friday evening there. We took a ferry across the harbour to get there. This ferry ride was much shorter.

Us on the Ferris Wheel

It was like being a kid again. There was nothing super exciting or thrilling at Luna Park, but it was charming. We loved it!

Us and the Luna Park sign

Fun house mirrors

Best picture of the whole trip! The Wild Mouse ride at Luna Park. We were pretty cramped in that tiny car. And, yes, We rode like this the whole time...

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About Me

I'm an elementary teacher currently teaching English at a private school in Tainan, Taiwan. I'm from Colorado but have lived in California and Kansas, too. I just moved to Taiwan for work opportunities for both me and my husband. I'm married to Jonathan who works for Univacco and we have a little dog, a Shi Tzu named Bing. We were married August 8th, 2008.